Quality Education must be top election priority

Jan 29, 2018

There’s nothing more important than the education of Tasmanian’s young people and commitments to quality education should be a top priority for all political parties at this state election, the AEU said today.

“We will be stepping up our campaign to secure commitments from all parties for our “Quality Education for all” plan which calls for more teachers, teacher assistants and professional support staff to enable every student to receive a great education,” said Helen Richardson, AEU Tasmania President.

An independent survey of our 5,500 AEU Tasmania educator members revealed a system in crisis with students missing out on the support they need for a quality education.

“The surveyed revealed public schools without enough teachers, support staff and professional support services to meet the increasingly complex learning needs of students, and principals spending most of their time buried in paperwork,” said Ms Richardson.

“80% of Principals say they need additional staff, while 90% of primary principals urgently need more professional support staff for their school such as school psychologists and speech therapists.”

“Three quarters of secondary teachers say they don’t have enough time to ensure the majority of their lessons are well planned, and a third of primary teachers don’t believe they meet the learning needs of kids slipping behind — there is an urgent need for all parties to commit to solutions.”

The AEU’s Quality Education plan calls for an urgent and immediate injection of 250 more teachers, 200 more teacher assistants and additional professional supports such as speech therapist and school psychologists.

“Education should be above politics with all parties committing to delivering the staff and other supports that educators say are desperately needed in our schools, colleges and TAFE.